Need a gatorade alternative asap

[rc10]

Hey guys and gals, I'm in need of a drink alternative to Gatorade with all the sugar in it whats the point in working out "Am I right' lol I need something that will replenish my body with electrolytes thanks.

 

[kerri38846]

Coconut water is one great alternative. You can also do water with a touch of apple cider vinegar and sea salt. A little ****, but a nice acquired taste. Another is pickle juice. No sugar, lots of salt and electrolytes. There is even a company that makes commercial pickle juice as a sports drink. I totally agree with you about Gatorade and won't touch the stuff. I don't see why people who are serious about their health would drink gatorade or take sports gels that are filled with crappy sugar. Makes no sense to me at all... I've cycled for years without the need for sports drinks and even cycled across Canada solo with a trailer in 100 degree weather going over mountain passes averaging 70 miles per day for weeks at a time and never felt the need to drink a nasty sugary drink like Gatorade to 'replenish'..

 

[Thundering Bear]

I love all the Clif Bar products and they have an electrolyte drink that appears to be more healthy. Planning on trying it.

 

[davereo]

Whats wrong with water and a healthy diet?

 

[OldGoat]

Here's what I now use (used to use Powerade--watered down 50%).
https://www.hammernutrition.com/products/heed-sports-drink.he.html

 

[dhk2]

The reason for sugar in sport drinks is to supply carbs. We can only store enough blood sugar in our muscles and liver for maybe 2 hours of hard riding. Once that becomes depleted during long or intense exercise, the day is over and we have to limp home. If you are doing easy rides of 1-2 hours, you shouldn't need the extra sugar, but hard (anaerobic) efforts burn through carbs much faster.

The sugar you take in during long/hard rides can go directly to the working muscles and shouldn't be stored as fat, unless you overdo the intake. About 60g of CHO/hour is plenty.

From what I've read several places, you shouldn't need electrolytes other than sodium when exercising/sweating. Eating salty snacks while training and drinking water will do just fine.

 

[kerri38846]

One can certainly get energy from fat on rides as well. There is no need for sugar. That is a fallacy that seems to never want to die. Our bodies are perfectly suited for endurance without the use of sugar. Look at what traditional cultures like Sherpas and the American Indians used for long treks. Sherpas use yak butter or any other type of fat mixed with whatever small amount of berries and meat was available to make it palatable. American Indians, too, took Pemmican which was usually fat with berries and meat. Minimal carbs in both of these sustained endurance foods. Sherpas, especially, should know the proper foods to eat for endurance and energy sustaining meals and they took FAT. American Indians, in particular, usually had regular access to honey and if that was the ideal food for long distance endurance, they would likely have stored it up and carried it with them for that purpose. Instead they, like Sherpas, took fat. Simple carbs are unnecessary and one could easily do endurance rides, I've done it, using easily digestible coconut oil for energy.

 

[maydog]

Fat was probably used by those groups due to the energy to weight ratio, you can pack alot more energy per pound in fat. Fat, however requires much more oxygen to be metabolized and is not good for high intensity work. Once you wade through all the marketing BS, there is a lot of good science behind drinks like Gatorade. Read a good exercise physiology text about endurance performance, there is a sharp drop in sustained energy output when the body switches to fat metabolism; unless perhaps you have some Sherpa or Inuit blood in you.

Also, fat and water don't mix well - hence sugary drinks. In the end, you need to replace what you take out, don't go overboard on the calories and all will be well.

 

[cloudhead]

I like water straight-up, coconut water, & Hammer Heed (that OldGoat also recommended) on really hot/strenuous days.

I don't race, but I like to ride long and far and up steep mountains, and find complex carbs to be a better source for pacing and efficiency (and staying trim). I feel a crash on simple sugars, but everyone's different and it all depends on how you like to ride.

 

[steve]

Shotz make a sports drink that is sugar free, its worth a try!

 

[ragtag]

It's also important to see what type of sugar is in a drink too. I'd avoid anything with fructose, it's hard for the body to metabolise and too much in your diet will turn into fat - there is a ton of info out there on fructose, it's not bad per se but if you are going to drink sports drinks often then it's a good idea to find an alternative.

Glucose is probably the best for immediate use by the body. Most of the time I only drink water, even on rides over 2 hours but sometimes a lightly sugar drink can be good as the sugar can help with fluid absorption. Think someone mentioned before about putting a pinch of salt into your water, this will also help by not watering down your body's salt.

There are many more lite sports drinks coming out which make more sense, whch also contain vitamins.

I'd echo what others have also said, you only really need this if your execise is over an hour and you're going at a high intensity.